Office



S. L. LONG.

STAMP FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-20, 1914.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

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STP-FEEDING MECNISM.

Speciflcatiof Lets Patent. Patented Mug, 1L5, jlwjlfi;

Application and August 20, 1914.. Serial No. 857,695. v

To all whom it may concern.-

]Be it known that I, SIDNEY L. Lone, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of I-Iennepin and Stateof Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp- Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a stamp-feeding mechanism arfd'has for its object to provide a roller-feed for the stamps together with novel means for positioning said stamps through operation upon the perforations thereof to permit the rollers to separate the stamps singly and successively from a stamp strip and feed the same in timed succession to the applying and moistening rollers.

The stamps upon which my stamp-feed is designed to operate are furnished by the government in long strips one stamp wide in which the successive stamps are partially separatedfrom the strips by means of transverse rows of perforations, the strips being wound up in rolls of the desired'size. The rows of perforations, therefore, provide an accurate guide for indicating a feed of the stamp strip from the roll equal to thelength of one stamp. In my present invention I have devised means constantly tending to feed the stamp forward in combination with means for periodically engaging in and being withdrawn from the successive rows of perforations, said means operating while in engagement with a row of perforations to restrain the stamp strip from being for- .warded by the action of'the feeding means.

The constantly-operating feeding means moves the stamp strip, when permitted to do so, so that the forward stamp is projected between intermittently-operating feeding and stamp-severing means and mintermittently operated clamp gripping the stamp of the strip adjacent said last-named feeding means, so that theforward stamp may be severed thereby and delivered to the moistening and applying rollers.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof and are particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, illustrating the applica-' tion'of my invention in one forum-Figure 1 is a sectional side view. of my'stamping mechanism show ng the stamp strip fed in position for tearing ofi" the forward stamp and being restrained from furthefforward movement by the means engaging the stamp perforations. Fig. 2 is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view separated and. the restraining means being hfted' to permit forwarding of the stamp roller by the constantly-operative feeding means. Fig. 4 is a side view ofthe stamping device showing the operating mechanism, Fig. 4 beinga view of the back of the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 3 outside of the supporting plate.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the stamper mechanism is comprised in a frame formed of side plates and 11 secured in properly spaced parallel relation by bars 12 at the corners of the said plates. A readily removable spindle 13 is journaled in plates 10 and 11 for receiving the stamp roll 14. A stamp strip 15 extends between a plurality of guide and tensioning rollers 16 journaled in the plates 10 and 11, from which the is journaled upon a shaft 20 constantly.

driven by spur gear 21 fast'thereon from a spur gear 22 on a shaft 23, driven from any available source of power, not shown. The roller 19 is carried by a shaft 24 journaled in the side plates 10 and 11. so as to be capable of moving toward and from roller 18. The roller 19 is yieldingly held in contact with roller 18 by means of a pair of leaf springs 25 mounted upon studs 26 secured to the walls 10 and 11, said leaf springs being held in contact with the ends of shaft 24 by fingers 27 secured to studs 28, which fingers engage the springs 25 between the studs 26 and the point of engagement of such springs with shaft 24. This makes a very light and readily yielding engagement between rollers 18 and 19, which is suficient to feed the stamp strip 15 forward when said strip is not restrained but which does not grip the stamp strip with sufficient force to sever the same at a row of perforations when the strip is restrained from forward movement. In other words,

' when the stamp strip is restrained, by means tionally guided to rollers 18 and 19, and held in;- proper position relative to guide plate 17, by means of a pair of short guide member 32.

plates 29 and 30 extended from walls 10 and 11 in a. position parallel with and slightly spaced from the plate 17.

Mounted to oscillate upon a bar 31 adjacent the guide plate 17 isa plate or box-like livotally connected with a rod 33 extending between the sides thereof, is a series of dogs 34 having teeth 35 projected outside of the wall of member 32 adjacent the stamp strip 15 by means of leaf springs 36, which are secured to the member 32. The oscillating member 32 is connected by means of a link 37 with a rocking lever 38 pivoted intermediate its ends to a stud 39 secured to plate 10. The lever 38 is connected to a spring 40, which normally operates to draw the lever, and link 37 connected therewith, inwardly toward the. plate 17 so as to cause the member 32 to assume its inner position in approximately parallel relation with plate 17, and the teeth 35 to engage the stamp strip 15. The end of lever 38 has thereon an angularly-disposed too 41 in the path of a stud 42 on a cam disk 43 fast on a shaft 44. The shaft 44 has thereon a spur gear 45 meshing with an idler gear 46 mounted on a stud secured to plate 10. A shaft 4.7 extending through enlarged apertures in plates 10 and 11, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, has thereon a roller 49 and a spur gear 51, meshing with gear 46. A shaft 48 is journaled in the plates 10 and 11 and has thereon a roller 50 and a spur gear 52, which meshes with spur gear 51 and also with idler gear 22 on shaft 23, by which said idler gear is driven, which in turn drives the shaft 20 and roller 18 through gear 21. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the shaft 47 is journaled inside of plates 10 and.l1 in a pair of, swinging bracket arms and 54, which arms are pivotally connected with a shaft journaled in plates 10 and 11. The bracket arms 53 and 54 are each provided withslots 56 through which extends a pin 57 secured to the respective plates 10 and 11, the slots and pin restricting the extent of movement of the bracket arms about their axes on shaft 55. Each of the bracket arms is engaged by a spring 58 secured to a stud 59 on the plates 10 and 11. The springs 58 engage noses 60 on arms 53 and 54 and are held in operative position by means of fingers 61 secured to the plates 10 and 11. respectively. By these means the roller 49 is normally held in its inner position. where the high portion thereof will yieldingly contact with roller 50, the fric tional force of such contact being suflicient to tear the advanced stamp from the strip when said strip is held from forward movement. Upon the shaft 55 is a roller 62, and

a complemental roller 63 is carried by a shaft 64 journaled in the plates 10 and 11. The shaft 55 has thereon a spur-gear 65 nieshing with a spur gear 66 on shaft 64, and the spur gear 66 is driven by an idler gear 67 mounted on the extended end of a shaft 68, gear 67 in turn meshing with spur gear 52 on shaft 48. The shaft 44 is provided with a pulley or gear 69 by which said shaft is driven from any desired source of power. From the connections above described, it will be apparent, therefore, that roller 18 will be positively driven, and the pairs of rollers 49, 50 and 62, 63 will also be positively driven so as to feed the stamps forward to the delivery point between rollers 62 and 63, at which point the stamps may be moistened and applied to envelops in any well-known way.

The gripping device for holding the stamps while the same are subject to rollers 49 and 50 so that the end stamp may be torn from the strip, comprises a block or anvil 70, in conjunction with which operates a gripper 71 slidably mounted in ways at the side of the machine and normally held in retracted position by means ofsprings 72 connected with the ends of gripper 71 and with the plates 10 and 11. The gripper has mounted thereon a roller 73 which is held in engagement with cam disk 43 by means of springs 72. The cam disk 43 has thereon a cam extension 74, which, at the proper time in the cycle of operations, actuates' through roller 73 the gripper slide. 71, causing it to come down upon block and grip or clamp the stamp strip so as to prevent forward feeding thereof. Just after this gripping action is effected the high portion of roller 49 comes into engagement with the end stamp between said high portion and roller 50 and operates to tear off said end stamp and forward it to rollers 62 and 63. Immediately after the release of the gripper 71, as best'indicated in Fig. 3, the pin or stud 42 on cam disk 43 comes into engagement with toe 41 on lever 38 and operates momentarily to lift the oscillating dog carrier 32, thereby withdrawing the dog teeth 35 from the perforations of the stamps. The action of positively-driven roller 18 innuediately starts to feed the stamp strip forward. The toe 41 leaves the pin 42, and

a spring 40 brings the dog carrier back into position where the teeth 35 engage the surface of the stamp strip as the same is being fed forward by rollers 18 and 19. lVhen the next row of perforations comes beneath the teeth 35, said teeth will pass through the row of perforations and grip and restrain further movement of the stamp strip until another rotation of cam disk 43 again lifts the teeth and releases the stamp strip for further feeding action. The stamps are, therefore, always torn off at the same point in the cyclepf operation, and the forwarding of stamps is in all respects fixed and accurate. The passage of the teeth 35 through manages the stamp perforations is facilitated by means of perforations 75 in the guide plate 17 and the upper guide plate 29 prevents the stamp strip from following the teeth 35 when the same are withdrawn and insures complete release on the stamp strip.

][ claim:

1. A stamp feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, means continuously operative upon the stamp strip tending continuously to feed the same forward, and means intermittently engageable with the perforations in the stamp strip for intermittently restraining such feeding movement.

2. A stamp-feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, a pair of rollers yieldingly engaging said stamp strip, at least one of said rollers being constantly driven and tending to feed the stamp strip continuously, and means engageable in the perforations of the stamp strip to hold the stamp stripfrom being fed. 3. A stamp-feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, a pair of rollers yieldingly engaging said stamp strip, at least one of said rollers being constantly driven and tending to feed the stamp strip continuously, means engageable in the perforations of the stamp strip to hold the stamp strip from being fed, and means acting periodically to withdraw said holding means from the perforations.

4:. A stamp-feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, a pair of rollers yieldingly engaging said stamp strip, at least one of said rollers being constantly driven and tending to feed the stamp strip continuously, and a multiplicity of toothed dogs adapted to engage the surface of the stamp strip with a yielding pressure and pass through perforations in the strip as the same is fed, thereafter holding the strip from feeding action of the rollers.

5. A stamp-feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, a pair of rollers yieldingly engaging said stamp strip, at least one of said rollers being constantly driven and tending to feed the stamp strip continuously, a multiplicity of toothed dogs adapted to engage the surface of the stamp strip with a y1eld-,

ing pressure and pass through perforations in the strip as the same is fed, thereafter holding the strip fromfeeding action of the rollers, and means acting periodically to withdraw the teeth from the perforations I and from engagement with the stamp strip and then to restore such engagement.

6. A stamp-feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, a pair of rollers yieldingly engaging said stamp strip, at least one of said rollers being constantly driven and tending to feed the stamp strip continuously, a pivoted carrier forming a portion of said guiding means, a series of dogs pivotally mounted in said carrier andhaving teeth extending outside the plane thereof in position to engage the surface of the stamp strip when the carrier is in its normal position, each of said dogs being independently movable and spring-pressed into operative position, and means acting periodically to oscillate the carrier upon its pivot from and back to nor mal position.

7. A stamp-feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, means operative upon the stamp strip and tending to feed the same forward at a constant rate, means intermittently engageable with the perforations of the stamp strip for intermittently restraining such feeding movement, means for gripping the stamp strip back of the first row of perforations when said feeding movement is restrained, and means periodically operative to engage the end stamp and tear the same from the strip when the strip is gripped.

8. A stamp-feeding and separating device comprising means for holding a stamp strip in roll form and for guiding the end of the strip, a pair of rollers engaging said stamp strip, at least one of said rollers being constantly driven and tending to feed the stamp strip continuously, toothed dogs engageable in the perforations of the stamp strip to hold the stamp strip from being fed, means for gripping the stamp strip adjacent the last row of perforations when it is so held, means acting periodically to engage and tear off the end stamp from the strip while the strip is being gripped, and means thereafter for withdrawing the dogs from the perforations to permit the stamp and strip to be fed, said last-named means operating to restore the dogs to engagementwith the stamp strip so that said dogs'may enter the next row of perforations and restrain the strip when it has been fed forward a distance equal to the length of one stamp.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' SIDNEY L. LONG. 

